Henry
Ford was an inventor,
philanthropist and successful American businessman.
Ford was the founder of the still popular
Ford Motor Company which had its first success
with the Model T Ford car that was released
in 1908. Henry Ford revolutionized the way
cars were designed and built, introducing
assembly line factories for producing mass
amounts of vehicles that led to lower prices
for consumers and an explosion in car ownership
throughout the United States.

Henry Ford was born on July 30, 1863 in
Dearborn, Michigan, United States, in what
was then known as Springwells Township.
Ford's parents were Irish immigrants and
the family lived on a farm, with Henry Ford
being the eldest of six children. The family
had a comfortable upbringing on the farm
with a decent income, but even as a young
person, Ford believed there was too much
work and not enough income living from the
land.

"It was life on the farm that drove
me into devising ways and means to better
transportation. I was born on July 30, 1863,
on a farm at Dearborn, Michigan, and my
earliest recollection is that, considering
the results, there was too much work on
the place." Henry Ford Quote

Ford began his career as an apprentice machinist
in 1879, then returned to his family farm
in 1882 before starting work with the Westinghouse
company to service their steam engines.
Ford then went to work at the Edison Illuminating
Company where he became chief engineer in
1893.

Henry Ford had always enjoyed mechanical
things and was always trying to improve
or create more useful machinery. In 1893
he created his first gasoline driven buggy
or Quadricycle that was completely self
propelled. He then started the Detroit Automobile
Company with several other investors to
improve on his design, but the company went
bankrupt soon after. Ford then started the
Henry Ford Company, which he also left,
before eventually starting the Ford Motor
Company in 1903.

The Ford Motor Company released the successful
Model T car in 1908. Generally cars were
built one at a time and were only accessible
to the very wealthy, but Ford continued
to improve the way the cars were manufactured.
In 1913 the cars were being mass produced
by one of the first moving assembly lines.
In 1918, half of the total amount of cars
in the United States were Model T's, 15
million cars were sold, and production of
the Model T was finally stopped in 1927.

Ford also had interests in politics but
was never successful as a politician, and
unsuccessfully ran for Senate as a Democrat.
He also had strong views on labor and how
the workforce should be treated. He paid
his workers more money for less working
days and made the 5 day 40 hour working
week a normal part of working life.

Henry Ford created the Ford Foundation in
1936 to promote human welfare through research
grants, educational grants and development.

In 1947, at the age 83 Henry Ford died of
a cerebral hemorrhage and was buried in
the Ford Cemetery in Detroit.